St Mary's Church is the parish church of

Snettisham Snettisham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located near the west coast of Norfolk, some south of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, north of the town of King's Lynn and northwest of the city of Norwich ...

in the English

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. It is dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. The church is late-14th-century Decorated and partly later reconstruction. It is

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The church was built in the late 14th century in the Decorated style. The listing description suggests that it is the best example of a Decorated church in Norfolk. It is built from flint with stone dressings and a stone spire. The spire reaches to and was traditionally a navigation feature for mariners in

The Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...

. The tower with spire is above the transept crossing. The design was originally

cruciform A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

: the 40-foot-long chancel was demolished by Sir Wymond Carye before 1600, and the north transept was reduced in 1597. There is a galilee porch to the west. The church was restored by

Frederick Preedy Frederick Preedy (2 June 1820 – 28 March 1898) was an architect and glass painter in England. Life Preedy was born in Offenham near Evesham in Worcestershire and died at his son's home in Croydon. During his early life, his family moved f ...

in 1856.

Features

There is a 15th-century pulpit, with painted panels; the font is also 15th-century.

Bells

The church has a ring of six bells, originally dating from 1710 and cast by

Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is best known for his film scores, earning accolades of six Grammy Award, Grammy Awards, an Emmy Awards, Emmy Award, two British Academy F ...

. In 1958 they were overhauled and three of the six were recast by

John Taylor & Co John Taylor Bell Foundry (Loughborough) Limited, trading as John Taylor & Co and commonly known as Taylor's Bell Foundry, Taylor's of Loughborough, or simply Taylor's, is the world's largest working bell (instrument), bell foundry. It is locat ...

. A 13th-century sanctus bell is also displayed in the church.

Stained glass windows

Stained glass in the east window was installed by Frederick Preedy in 1855–56. This was destroyed by a Zeppelin bomb in WWI. It was replaced by

Percy Bacon Brothers Percy Bacon and Brothers was a firm which produced stained glass, church furnishings, and decorations. The firm was set up in 1892 by stained glass artist and sculptor, Percy Charles Haydon Bacon, and operated for many years from 11 Newman Stree ...

in 1920. That window is a five-light depiction of the Crucifixion. The west window is six-lights, depicting scenes from the Old Testament, and is an early work by

William Warrington William Warrington, (1796–1869), was an English maker of stained glass windows. His firm, operating from 1832 to 1875, was one of the earliest of the English Gothic revival, Medieval revival and served clients such as Norwich and Peterboro ...

, dating from before 1850. The windows in the nave are by Preedy, M & A O'Connor, and

Burlison & Grylls Burlison and Grylls is an English company who produced stained glass windows from 1868 onwards. The company of Burlison and Grylls was founded in 1868 at the instigation of the architects George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner. Both John Bur ...

, with a modern 3-light window by Paul Jeffries of G King & Son, depicting the

Blessed Virgin Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

with the symbols of the four gospel writers.

Organ

The organ dates from 1885 and was made by Alfred Kirkland.

Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton, New Brunswick

The Anglican diocese of Fredericton in New Brunswick was established in 1845, with

John Medley John Medley, (19 December 1804 – 9 September 1892), was a Church of England clergyman who became the first bishop of Fredericton in 1845. In 1879 he succeeded Ashton Oxenden as Metropolitan of Canada. Education and family John Medley was ...

as its first bishop. Medley chose St Mary's, Snettisham, as the model for the new Fredericton cathedral. Before leaving England, Medley hired the

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

architect Frank Wills to visit St Mary's and make detailed plans, which Medley had with him when he arrived in Fredericton. With additional work by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a British Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was bo ...

, the cathedral was consecrated in 1853.

Parish activities

There are annual illuminations of the church each December.

References

{{coord, 52.87945, 0.51067, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Grade I listed churches in Norfolk Church of England church buildings in Norfolk